BHA Fast Facts – The Glen Part 2

Round: 5 of 10 in the 2021 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge (IMPC)

Racetrack: Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, NY

3.4-mile road course, featuring 11 turns

Race: Friday, July 2, 2021, at 2:35 pm ET (11:35 am PT) (2 Hours)

TV: LIVE on NBC Gold Track Pass

Live timing and scoring from each session available at www.IMSA.com

Live radio commentary for every session at www.IMSA.com and RadioLeMans.com

Replay: NBCSN Tuesday, July 6^th at 5 pm ET

Return of The Champion: Gabby Chaves, 2020 TCR co-champion with Ryan Norman returns to Bryan Herta Autosport for the Sahlen’s 120 to sub for Norman in the #98 Elantra N TCR. Norman, a veteran of the Road to Indy program and Indy Lights race winner, will make his NTT INDYCAR Series debut this weekend at his home track at Mid-Ohio, driving for Dale Coyne Racing. Norman recently won at Mid-Ohio, scoring BHA’s first victory of 2021 and the Elantra’s first victory in North American competition.

3 for 4: Taylor Hagler and Michael Lewis scored their third consecutive podium of the 2021 season when they finished 3^rd at The Glen last weekend. Approaching the top step, the duo has a pair of thirds and a second-place finish. Teammates Ryan Norman and Parker Chase followed up their victory at Mid-Ohio with a second-place finish last weekend after a hard-fought four-hour battle.

The Points Picture: As we approach the halfway point of the season with four of ten races complete, Hagler and Lewis are ranked second (1200), just ten points out of the championship lead, Ryan Norman and Parker Chase (1100) are 100 points behind in third, and the #54 Veloster N TCR of Michael Johnson and Stephen Simpson are fourth. Despite some bad luck early in the season, Mark Wilkins and Harry Gottsacker are within striking distance of the top five, ranked seventh with 950 points.

N: Thousands of race fans were treated to an up-close look at the newest “N” vehicles last weekend at The Glen. The Elantra N Line, Sonata N Line, Veloster N and the all-new Kona N, most of which have not been released yet in North American were on display. Hyundai’s performance line, “N” represents Namyang, the global R&D center where the “N” high-performance models are created. It’s also the first letter of Nürburgring, the epic track where they’re rigorously tested and refined. Engineered from Hyundai’s success in the World Rally Championship and Touring Car Racing series, N and N Line vehicles are built to give consumers a race-inspired rush.

###

Images: www.BHAMedia.com – Image copyright @LATUSA

Video: Subscribe to the BHA YouTube channel for video updates, Interviews and features from each race weekend: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdpjGo7dEuzYazs2ioBMVPQ/videos

Michael Lewis: “It’s awesome racing back to back. The competition is so close, but makes for great racing, the fans had a great show last weekend and it was so great to see them here back with us in the paddock. We’ll keep working hard to put the #77 BHA Hyundai Veloster N TCR on the top step.”

Taylor Hagler: “It was nice to have a few days off here in beautiful up state New York. It will be a bit of a different dynamic this weekend with the two-hour, no time for mistakes. We had a really good result last weekend in what turned out to be a wild race. I am looking forward to getting back out there for another podium this weekend.”

Of Note:

Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb Agajanian:

Founded in 2009, Bryan Herta Autosport has grown from a single car Indy-Lights team into a multi-championship winning auto racing franchise. Led by IndyCar and Sports Car star Bryan Herta, Bryan Herta Autosport has won races in every discipline they have entered, including Indy Lights, Indy Car, Global Rallycross, and championship titles in Pirelli World Challenge and IMSA. BHA rose to prominence after winning the 2011 Indianapolis 500 in what was the final race of the Centennial Era, a celebration of 100 years of racing at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with driver Dan Wheldon. Five years later, BHA partnered with Andretti Autosport, and defied the odds again, winning their second Indianapolis 500 with rookie driver Alexander Rossi. In 2018, BHA entered the American Sports Car scene beginning its immensely successful partnership with Hyundai. Together, BHA and Hyundai have won three championships in as many seasons, including their dominating performance finishing first, second and third in the 2020 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, where Hyundai won its first manufacturers title. For 2021, BHA will debut the all-new Hyundai ELANTRA N TCR and continue with the proven Veloster N TCR with a three-car assault in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. For more information, visit: www.BryanHertaAutosport.com.

BHA/Hyundai Customer Support: Bryan Herta Autosport is the U.S. sales agent and part support representative of Hyundai TCR and TCA race cars for customer teams. The BHA/Hyundai Customer Support Team offers trackside engineering support, setup and tuning advice, and part and order fulfillments for the Hyundai Veloster N TCR and TCA teams and drivers from the BHA’s headquarters in Speedway, IN. Since its North American debut in 2019, the Hyundai Veloster N TCR has scored 26 race wins, and three TCR championship titles.

HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA

At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundai’s technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea. Please visit our media website at www.HyundaiNews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram